City discusses request for food truck downtown

City discusses request for food truck downtown News Staff Tue, 02/20/2024 - 12:02 pm City council in favor of hosting public hearing

• (THE GRAHAM LEADER | ARCHIVE PHOTO) Visitors to the 2022 Food Truck Championship of Texas look over menu items at the Doughnut Snob food truck. The Graham City Council will be hosting a public hearing after a local food truck reached out to request access to the downtown square.

Thomas Wallner editor@grahamleader.com

After receiving a request in January to have a food truck once a month on the Graham downtown square, the Graham City Council tabled and then denied the request in order to host a public hearing and have the public voice their concerns or support.

In January, Alexander Smith, who owns the Panda Pearl boba truck in Graham, made a request to the city to have access to the square once a month and cited the Chick-fil-A food truck, which was given access to the square in September 2023. Smith requested an electrical hookup, if available, and said he would pay for power usage.

In a reply to Smith’s request, City Manager Eric Garretty said the city could only permit a truck to be in the southern half of the downtown square, due to the remaining half being within the ownership of Young County.

The council tabled the discussion in their Thursday, Feb. 1 meeting in order to have further conversation on a specified downtown location and decide if rental charges would be appropriate.

The city manager said in the city council meeting Thursday, Feb. 15 that the southwestern interior corner of the downtown square was suggested and the city has not charged rental for these types of activities.

“We don’t really have a policy and if you start doing this… what are your restrictions going to be? Who are we going to allow? Who are we not going to allow?” Garretty said.

Council member Jack Little said the request would bring more food trucks in the city with interest in a similar proposal. Little said the city has to be careful due to the brick and mortar restaurants on the square currently.

“Graham’s a large city and, the best I can tell, you can set up a food truck about anywhere you can cut a deal, and that’s not a problem. So there are a lot of places to do that, but I think, as a whole, and just looking at our downtown area, we really have to be careful getting a schedule where they can come in,” Little said. “…It’s not going to be about one, it’s going to be about several of them.”

Little said if a determination is made by the city it needs to be consistent and apply it to all trucks that would be coming downtown, with the exception of those for events such as the Food Truck Championship of Texas.

Mayor Alex Heartfield said the city needs to have a policy or ordinance to provide that consistency with a designated location and addressing other details such as electricity and water.

Mayor Pro-Tem Shana Wolfe said if the city does end up allowing downtown trucks, they need some sort of benefit, such as a financial benefit from charging rent.

After speaking with businesses on the downtown square, council member Brant Lundgren felt hesitation with allowing food trucks on the square currently.

“After talking to some of the business owners on the square (they said) …‘It’s an investment that we put into the square and it’s tough. We need every customer that we can get.’ And I feel like we would be shooting the businesses on the square in the foot if we allowed the others to come in at this time without a policy, or without any formal way of doing that,” he said.

Little said he recommended the council vote no until there was more organization and planning from the council on the topic.

“We have to recognize that the food trucks are a viable part of our community because they are everywhere and they are used,” Little said. “We have to recognize that, but I think we would be doing our community a major disservice not to give this full thought and consideration for all.”

The council agreed to establish a public hearing at a future date to discuss the issue with the public. Council member Jeff Dickinson said this also would allow for all parties impacted to voice their opinions.

“I think it would be helpful to the council,” he said. “I think it would also be helpful for us to know how many spots are available so members of the square can actually weigh in and give their opinion.”

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